Bosch Packaging Technology (boschpackaging.com) will showcase its latest hygienically designed horizontal and vertical solutions for the frozen foods industry at PACK EXPO in Booth #S-3514. The integrated hygienic concept ranges from gentle product distribution and feeding, through to horizontal flow wrapping and cartoning. Also on display will be the SVC 2620, Bosch’s vertical form, fill and seal (VFFS) machine, ideal for the packaging of free-flowing frozen goods. The solutions were engineered to address increasing demand for hygienic packaging equipment across the U.S.

“With strict food safety regulations and growing consumer awareness towards product impurities and allergens, manufacturers are under increasing pressure to safeguard production against contaminants,” says Fabian Manger, product manager at Bosch Packaging Technology. “Hygienic design is often common sense, which – as we know – is not that common after all. Bosch solutions for the frozen foods industry feature stainless steel as well as proven and FDA-compliant materials. Sloped surfaces, open construction and minimized contact areas prevent contamination. Bosch’s years of engineering and technical expertise mean that we have been able to create solutions that not only match current regulation standards, but exceed them.”

High-speed complete packaging system

The design of the horizontal frozen foods packaging system is carefully thought through. It consists of a feeding system combined with a Sigpack HBM horizontal flow wrapper and Bosch’s flexible Sigpack TTM cartoner. All components feature the latest hygienic design standards. Depending on customer requirements, the system components are capable of handling common cleaning methods ranging from easy wipedown to a full washdown of the Sigpack HBM flow wrapper.

The frozen foods system’s continuous product flow is guaranteed by the new Sigpack DCIE indirect distribution station and a feeding system transporting the products gently at high speeds. It is made for easy and fast belt, roller and scrapper exchange, while the double-pull-nose system ensures contactless handling of delicate products such as ice cream. Bosch also offers a second format set with a format parts carriage, which allows for one set to be cleaned while the second set is in use.

The robustly designed Sigpack HBM horizontal flow wrapper features a sealed electrical cabinet to protect drives. It is available with either cold or heat sealing and with an automatic splicer to guarantee high speeds of up to 600 products per minute. The Sigpack TTM cartoner, which is available with increased hygienic standards for frozen food production areas, is known for its efficient and reliable performance as well as its open design to allow for easy access and cleaning. Its patented format change concept enables easy and tool-less changeovers of pack styles and formats within a few minutes. The vertical restart takes place with no additional time required for supplementary fine adjustments.

State-of-the-art hygienic design

For producers of free-flowing frozen goods, such as chicken, French fries, fruit and vegetables, Bosch will showcase its SVC 2620 VFFS machine providing a hygienic platform for producers, protecting product packaging from potential contaminants. To meet individual production standards and demands, the SVC 2620 features three cleaning options, from dry wipedown, low-pressure right through to high-pressure with cleaning agents.

Furthermore, the continuous motion machine is designed for high uptime, easy set-up, operation and maintenance. Changing bags and vacuum belts – as well as other adjustments – are quick and require no tools, thus reducing downtime. Bag style flexibility allows frozen foods manufacturers to choose from pillow, block bottom, gusseted and corner seal pack styles with various reclose and easy opening features in widths of up to 260 millimeters. Manufacturers can also select their desired sealing technology, including poly heat seal (PHS), heat seal (HS), and ultrasonic seal. Total Preventive Maintenance (TPM) has been incorporated in the basic design philosophy, so producers are reassured that their production will continuously run at highest efficiency.

Thought through engineering concepts, high quality materials and gentle product handling – combined with years of experience in designing and realizing packaging solutions – creates an efficient packaging process with minimum downtime, maximum output and high product safety for all kinds of frozen foods.

Bosch experts will be at the booth to help navigate visitors through how to comply with food safety regulations and the various cleaning alternatives they offer to do so.